Page 108 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“Joey was in our house. Chloe was there, tied to a chair. There was another dragon there. Joey didn’t mean to sell us. Only me. I’m so sorry, Zoe.”

“The human will never bother you again,” Vedar said, sounding concerned. “He is gone.”

“Shh. See? It’s okay. We’re here, and we’re safe.”

That only made me cry harder. We were safe, but at what cost? Two of our friends were dead, and Chloe was a mess. Even with Joey gone, I couldn’t go back to our old lives. Zoe could, but it was now apparent it wasn’t safe for her out there, either. Was it any safer here, though? Had I painted an even bigger target on Zoe and my backs by binding myself to Vedar? I didn’t know, and I was so tired of the struggle of simply trying to keep us both alive.

Zoe held me for another moment then led the way to her room where she peeled my jacket off and nudged me onto the bed. I collapsed willingly and let her hold me like I’d held her after Dad died.

“I know it doesn’t feel like it right now,” she said softly, “but it’ll be okay. Let it all out. This was a long-time coming, Kells. Let it out.”

I did and eventually cried myself to sleep.

My head ached when a wet,puppy-tongue to my chin woke me the next morning. For a few glorious moments, I felt sad without understanding why. Then I remembered my breakdown and looked at Zoe sleeping beside me.

Sir Cuddles wiggled into my view, wagging his tail and licking my cheeks.

“I’m up. I’m up,” I whispered, gently nudging him away.

He let out a happy yip and bounced on the bed a few times before disappearing out of the open door. I let out a slow exhale as I stared up at the ceiling.

So much had happened in such a short span of time. Despite yesterday’s cry-fest, I still wasn’t sure how I felt about everything. Obviously, sad and horrified that our friends had suffered in our absence. But, worried too. I’d promised to stay with Vedar forever in order to save Chloe. I didn’t regret that choice, but after yesterday’s revelation, I wasn’t sure what forever meant for Zoe.

“Come.”

I glanced at the door and saw Vedar watching me.

“If I leave this bed, are you going to lock her away again?” My eyes started to water at the thought.

“No,” he said quietly. He turned and walked away.

As much as I wanted to stay with my sister, I knew hiding wouldn’t solve anything. I needed answers, and only one dragon could give them to me. With a sigh, I eased out of bed without waking Zoe and went to look for Vedar.

I found him in front of the stove in the kitchen. He was still wearing the borrowed clothes from yesterday, which I found odd, considering how much he seemed to enjoy going without.

He didn’t glance at me when I entered or acknowledge me in any way. It was like we’d stepped back twenty-four hours, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I wasn’t sure what to do about anything, really.

“So mate-bonded, huh?” I said, unable to come up with anything else. “It sounds a little terrifying on top of the forever part. Everything does, though, so…” I shrugged even though he wasn’t looking at me.

He shut off the stove and scraped the eggs he’d been cooking onto a plate already loaded with potatoes and bacon.

“A mate-bond is the most uncomplicated thing in the world,” he said. “And nothing to fear.”

When he turned, he kept his eyes on the food and gestured at a stool. It felt weird that he wasn’t trying to make eye contact. He was always watching me. That was his thing. Sure, he’d ignored me the first few hours we were together. At least, until I kicked him in the nose and started wrecking his stuff. But this felt different.

Sitting where he indicated, I studied him as he slid the food in front of me.

“But what exactly does a mate-bond mean?” I asked, needing him to spell it out. I understood human marriage well enough, but he wasn’t human. For all I knew, there was some kind of dragon ritual involved.

“Does it need to mean anything?” He turned away to pour me a glass of orange juice.

“Adira made it sound like it did. Please just tell me. My imagination is running wild with all these things, and I’d rather know the truth about everything than to keep guessing and worrying. I mean, I’m 99% sure there’s sex involved, right? Biting? More burning pain in my chest? Some kind of blood sacrifice?”

“It means I give you anything you need and be anything you need.” He set the glass in front of me and finally met my gaze. “No biting. No sacrifices. No pain. Simply us, together. Always.”

“And me? Am I supposed to do the same for you? Give you everything you want?”

His expression softened. “Someday, maybe. Not today.”

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